BLACKBURN SEX OFFENDER JAILED FOR FAILING TO DISCLOSE DEVICES WITH INDECENT IMAGES

A convicted sex offender named Richard Ferguson failed to disclose three devices in his possession to the police after his release from prison, one of which was used to access pornographic content. Ferguson, 39, who has a history of sexual offenses, was convicted in 2015 for sexual assault against a female under 13 and making indecent images, sentenced to eight years in prison. A condition of his order was to produce any devices for police inspection. After his release on March 8, Ferguson was placed in a bail hostel. During a police visit just over two weeks later, Ferguson admitted to watching pornography on his phone, claiming that "everyone did it." When officers seized his phone, they discovered a sim card not registered with the police, containing extreme and Category A images. Concerns grew when Ferguson’s father reported that prior to dropping Ferguson at the hostel, he had given him a Toshiba laptop and a Sony mobile phone, previously belonging to his brother, none of which were registered with the authorities. Ferguson has previous convictions dating back to 2000, including a supervision order for sexual assault against a girl under 14, and a 2006 community order for possessing and distributing indecent images of children. He also admitted to three breaches of a sexual harm prevention order. The court heard that Ferguson’s recent conduct demonstrated a clear breach of his legal restrictions and order. Judge Simon Medland sentenced Ferguson to 18 months in prison and imposed notification requirements for 10 years, noting he was already on lifetime notification due to past offenses. The judge remarked, “By your own actions you are presently recalled and will be recalled for probably another seven years. When you were released on license you conducted yourself in a way which you knew to be unlawful and improper. The rules were in place to help you break the cycle of paedophile offending and here you were deliberately breaking it in a very deliberate way. To your credit, you have made full admissions and you were candid with the officers.” The sentencing reflected the seriousness of his breaches and past behavior, affirming the importance of ongoing monitoring and compliance.